COMMUNITY COMMENT: Ohio River cruise highlights beauty of Southern Indiana

The next time someone tells me that they love the people of Indiana, "but there are no mountains or an ocean," I will enthusiastically respond: "But we have the Ohio River." On June 11, my family and I began a six-day, 307-mile journey by boat down the river from Lawrenceburg to Mount Vernon that helped us appreciate the natural wonder that forms Indiana's southern border.

The family adventure included stops in Aurora, Rising Sun, Vevay and Madison on the first day. This portion of the river is worthy of a weeklong family vacation that would rival a European riverboat cruise advertised on television. The remarkable view from the river of the towns and cities are unlike what one sees from the windows of the car passing along the roads. While many people have enjoyed the scenery of this area of Southeastern Indiana along the scenic byways of Indiana 56 and 156, the view from the river must be experienced to fully appreciate the beauty of this part of the state.

After an evening enjoying Madison and spending the night at the Riverboat Inn, we were under way again. A stop at Hanover College and the Rivers Institute added another perspective with an incredible view of the river from the heights of the bluff, as well as a well-studied appreciation of the Ohio River from an academic viewpoint. The river flows south where we stopped again in Jeffersonville to stay with lifelong friends from my days growing up in New Albany.

One summer after my first year of school at Purdue University, I worked for the American Commercial Barge Line on the tugs and barges that ply the river. I was reminded of the awesome experience of going through the locks anew watching my 12-year-old son Michael's reaction as we locked through the Markland and McAlpine dams. There are viewing areas to watch this remarkable feat of engineering, but by boat it provides a greater sensory experience.

After dinner with a large group of friends at the Overlook Restaurant, we stayed at the Kintner House Inn in Corydon; both are worth their own visit to help showcase both the remarkable vista down on the horseshoe bend in the river and the friendly hospitality that surrounds the first capital of our Hoosier state. On the fourth day, we made stops in Derby and Rome, which are both nestled along the wooded areas near Hoosier National Forest, another state treasure worthy of a longer visit.

In Rome, we were greeted by former Gov. Ed Whitcomb. Although I knew some of our former governor's biography, the first-person account of his "escape from Corregidor" and of sailing solo around the world over five years as told by the 94-year-old ex-governor to my young son made me appreciate Whitcomb, our Hoosier "Renaissance man." We invited Whitcomb aboard, and the adventurer gladly accepted. From the river, he pointed out his property and hand-built cabin, as well as other points of interest, before he disembarked at Tell City.

That evening, we were joined by friends for a night of fishing in the river, another reminder of days spent fishing with my father and family. The following morning, the river took us by Troy and Rockport where the young Hoosier Abraham Lincoln once lived and set off on his own riverboat adventure down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, which greatly shaped the views and values of our 16th president.

Further down the river, we were joined again by my wife and daughters, Gretchen and Katherine, in Newburgh, where we had dinner at the Edgewater Grille, a lovely spot along the river well worth a visit by anyone wanting to enjoy a port city in Indiana. The short trip that followed could be called a sunset cruise, locking through Newburgh dam and docking in Evansville.

The final day took us from Evansville to Mount Vernon, a beautiful river port city in Posey County that served as a fitting conclusion to a memorable journey — one I would highly recommend that more people experience. It was much better than a trip to the beach or the mountains, and located in Indiana's backyard.

Greg Zoeller, a New Albany native, is attorney general of the state of Indiana.